Niao Ni
Chapter 288: The Best Pimps are Always Young
Fan Xian sat in his study, frowning deeply as he examined the case files before him. Bao Yue House had two owners, shrouded in mystery, whom few had ever seen. As for the House's operations, they were indeed audacious, employing ruthless and merciless methods. Having only opened this spring, it had, in a mere matter of months, extinguished the business of rival establishments through a combination of force and money, forcibly seizing many renowned courtesans and bringing them into its fold, rapidly establishing a formidable reputation.
From the details he had observed during his visit to Bao Yue House, Fan Xian could discern that the House's owner was undoubtedly a skilled businessperson, but beneath the surface of ordinary commercial tactics lay a darkness that could not be concealed. Mu Tie was right: within just one month, four disobedient prostitutes had disappeared, presumed dead. Moreover, Bao Yue House engaged in even more sordid activities in secret, including the exploitation of virgin girls and catering to deviant desires.
Fan Xian's frown deepened, and his heart grew colder. Whether in his past life or this one, the world was always filled with filth. However, in the capital of Qing, this filth was more readily brought out into the open. The powerful and privileged, relying on their authority and status, relentlessly exploited and oppressed the common people. Matters such as those surrounding Bao Yue House were not unique or unprecedented in the Kyoto officialdom; rather, they were a method of accumulating wealth to which all the influential dignitaries had grown accustomed.
In the past, Fan Xian had mostly observed the injustices and hardships faced by the poor and lowly from a distance, watching the world's ugliness unfold, or subconsciously avoiding dwelling on these inequities and darkness—because he was not a compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva. He himself had benefited and enjoyed the privileges that came with his position. As a beneficiary, a member of the powerful elite, he naturally chose silence and acceptance.
Silence and acceptance, however, did not mean that he could grow accustomed to it. Even though he had resided in this vat of sewage long enough, he remained unable to reconcile himself to it.
A mere Bao Yue House was not enough to change his principles. He might do some good within his means, such as redeeming Sang Wen or curbing Bao Yue House's excesses, to make the actions of the powerful more moderate and to ease the tensions between classes. However, he would not attempt to make a thunderous response.
Because a thunderous response would mean negating everything Bao Yue House represented, which would mean challenging the entire world. Only Ye Qingmei seemed to have ever attempted such a heaven-defying feat. And his mother, it seemed, had ultimately failed.
Yet, Bao Yue House seemed to be more than just a brothel. Fan Xian sensed a hidden unease within it, and a foreboding judgment and an inexplicable surge of anger were gradually rising from the depths of his heart!
Therefore, he needed to revisit Bao Yue House in person to confirm whether his judgment was correct.
---
One sunny, crisp autumn afternoon, Deng Ziyue, head of the Qi Nian Group, returned to Bao Yue House.
Upon seeing his deathly pale face, the bouncers of Bao Yue House swarmed forward, ready to beat him into a pulp on the spot. However, upon seeing his deathly pale official robes, the bouncers hesitated and took a step back, seemingly afraid of the chilling aura emanating from them.
Deng Ziyue was wearing his Overwatch Council uniform today, which made his status different. Bao Yue House believed it also had the Overwatch Council as a backer, and naturally wouldn't want to cause infighting within the same organization, so they immediately replaced the greeter with someone of higher status, who respectfully ushered him into a quiet room on the third floor.
Inside the room was a curtain, obscuring the view of what lay beyond.
Outside the curtain was a round table made of Qingzhou stone, appearing refined and elegant. Shi Qing'er greeted Deng Ziyue with a smile and led him to sit at the table, saying charmingly, "So you are a high-ranking official from the Council. Last night was truly reckless. Had I known you were from the Council, I would have handed over Sang Wen with both hands, and wouldn't have dared to accept your silver taels."
As she spoke, she glanced intentionally toward the curtain, but made no move to retrieve the silver taels.
Deng Ziyue knew that someone was behind the curtain, possibly the mysterious owner of Bao Yue House. He had been in the Overwatch Council for eight years and had never engaged in the practice of using his power to bully merchants. However, Fan Xian had forced him to retrieve those ten thousand taels of silver today, so he had no choice but to make another trip. After a moment's consideration, he said with a cold smile, "Miss Shi is too polite. However, after leaving the House last night, I ran into a few stray dogs. I'm here today simply to ask if those dogs are raised by your establishment?"
Shi Qing'er's expression remained unchanged, but she felt a sense of vague unease in her heart. Last night, she had simply assumed that the other party was from the Thirteen Departments, never imagining that they were connected to the Overwatch Council. The Second Owner's small brothers usually acted lawlessly in Kyoto, and they were completely defeated last night! The other party had come to her doorstep again today, and his words were sharp and impolite. It seemed that it would be difficult to resolve this peacefully. Unfortunately, there was too little time and she couldn't ascertain the boundaries of her opponent.
For certain reasons, Bao Yue House would never have guessed that the Chen Gongzi was actually Fan Tisi. But she still didn't care much about the mysterious Chen Gongzi, and she wouldn't return the 10,000 silver taels, because the person sitting behind the curtain gave her enough confidence.
Shi Qing'er's expression turned cold, and she said with a sneer, "Sir, you have a very amusing way of speaking. When did the Overwatch Council start managing brothels? Isn't that the Kyoto Prefecture's responsibility? If you've been bitten by a dog, you should be careful not to get sick and quickly go home and rest. Why are you still coming here to patronize our business?" She said charmingly, "Sir, you are truly energetic."
Deng Ziyue said sternly, "Stop talking nonsense! If you don't give me an explanation for what happened yesterday, be careful, or I'll tear down this dilapidated building of yours!" He was forced to come and act tough, which made him feel uncomfortable, but his years of work in the Overwatch Council gave his words a natural chilling undertone, creating a sense of immense pressure.
Someone coughed twice from behind the curtain.
Shi Qing'er slammed her palm on the Qingzhou stone table, her expression vicious, and cursed, "Where did this hooligan come from! How dare you come to our Bao Yue House to extort money! The contracts were written very clearly. You forcibly bought Sang Wen. Aren't you satisfied yet? If you don't leave, be careful, or I'll strip you naked and throw you out, so everyone in Kyoto can see your ugly face!"
Deng Ziyue stared at her eyes with a murderous gaze, while listening to the movements behind the curtain. He said in a cold voice, "It seems that your establishment is prepared to be an enemy of my Overwatch Council."
A mere brothel would never be qualified to be an enemy of the vast and terrifying Overwatch Council, but Shi Qing'er was surprisingly calm, narrowing her eyes and sneering, "Don't try to intimidate me with the Overwatch Council. The Six Ministries and Three Departments might fall for that, but Bao Yue House doesn't!"
Deng Ziyue laughed loudly and said, "You have guts." He stood up, glanced coldly at the curtain, and prepared to leave with a flick of his sleeve.
...
...
"Stop right there!"
From behind the curtain, which had been quiet except for a couple of coughs, someone finally spoke. The voice was childish, yet it carried a hint of arrogance and high status. The green curtain slowly opened, and the long-mysterious owner of Bao Yue House, whom no one had ever seen, finally appeared before the world.
Deng Ziyue turned around in astonishment, his pupils constricting violently. He truly hadn't expected the other party's identity! Nor had he expected that the other party would actually meet him!
He stared at the young boy in the light yellow clothes behind the curtain, feeling a sense of utter absurdity in the depths of his heart! Bao Yue House—Kyoto's largest, most popular, and darkest brothel, which opened its doors to welcome and send off patrons every day, a brothel where nightly debauchery was rampant—its owner was actually a... boy who wasn't even ten years old!
Deng Ziyue stared dumbfounded at the young boy in the yellow clothes, then suddenly frowned. Although this young boy's status was extraordinary, the fact that he had suddenly become the owner of Bao Yue House was truly shocking.
After a long silence, he finally bent his knee slightly and said in a deep voice, "Deng Ziyue, Principal Secretary of the Overwatch Council, greets His Third Highness!"
His Third Highness?
...
...
His Majesty's youngest son was actually the owner of Bao Yue House!
Seeing that this Overwatch Council official, who had been putting on a fierce expression, had softened and knelt before the Second Owner, Shi Qing'er curled her lips and let out two contemptuous sneers. What if the Overwatch Council was powerful? It was still just a dog of His Majesty the Emperor. Her establishment might seem ordinary, but behind it was His Majesty the Emperor's youngest son!
"This... Lord Deng, do you have anything else to say?" Shi Qing'er asked with a face full of disdainful smiles.
Unexpectedly, after Deng Ziyue knelt, he stood up quite naturally without waiting for the young aristocrat who was less than ten years old to speak. He said with a serious expression, "This official is here under orders to ask questions. Miss has not yet answered. After returning, I will naturally report everything in full. As for what happens in the future, the adults in the Council will naturally be responsible."
The Third Prince was the youngest son of the Qing Emperor, and his mother was the favored Consort Yi in the palace. The little child actually started a brothel! This fact was absurd, but it was happening right before his eyes. Deng Ziyue's temples throbbed twice as he forcefully suppressed his emotions and said politely, "This subordinate takes his leave."
The Third Prince still had a youthful air on his face, but having been born into an imperial family, the little boy naturally possessed a sense of authority, and his mind was not simple. He watched as this minor official actually tried to leave just like that, and a surge of anger rushed into his brain. He threw a teacup at him, and although Fan Xian had seen at the city gate that this Third Prince was still quite young, but had some thoughts, he was still a child. Not receiving the respect he expected, he naturally flew into a rage.
The Third Prince stepped forward, pointed at Deng Ziyue's nose, and cursed, "Why do you want to leave? Why don't you investigate further? Didn't you want me to return your ten thousand taels of silver!"
Deng Ziyue had a wry smile on his face. No matter how powerful the Overwatch Council was, it couldn't fight with a prince for silver taels. However, judging from His Majesty's usual behavior, the Overwatch Council didn't really care about Princes. And Fan Xian had given him strict instructions last night, so Deng Ziyue couldn't lose face in front of the Prince no matter what. Therefore, he maintained a polite demeanor and said, "The matter of the silver taels will naturally be discussed by my lord. However, Your Third Highness, you should refrain from frequenting such licentious places."
Shi Qing'er was stunned as she listened from the side, thinking that the Overwatch Council was indeed as domineering as the rumors said, and didn't even show respect to a prince!
...
...
The Third Prince was only eight or nine years old, but having been born into an imperial family, the little boy possessed a natural aura of authority, and his mind was not simple. He sneered and said, "When did the Overwatch Council become beggars, going around asking for money? How dare you not give me face... Cousin, do you know who this person is?"
As he spoke, the half-open curtain was completely pulled open, revealing a group of thugs lying in wait. Seeing the thugs' expressions, Deng Ziyue's expression turned grim, and he felt that their strength was far beyond that of ordinary thugs.
And at the front of these thugs stood two young men. One young man had a ferocious look on his face, and his right hand was bandaged tightly, with traces of blood seeping out. He was the same person whose palm had been pierced by Fan Xian's crossbow bolt last night.
Deng Ziyue's eyelids twitched, knowing that it would be extremely difficult to resolve things peacefully today. But when he looked at the person next to the young man with the pierced palm, his expression became extremely ugly, even more shocked than when he had discovered that the owner of Bao Yue House was the young Third Prince...
He frowned, looked at the conspicuous mole on the left cheek of the slightly overweight young man, and asked after a moment of silence, "Young Master, could it be that you are also an owner of Bao Yue House?"
This slightly overweight young man was none other than Fan Xian's younger brother, Fan Sizhe!
Deng Ziyue had never expected that Bao Yue House, which the Tisi was investigating, was actually owned by his own younger brother!
...
...
Compared to the arrogant Third Prince, and compared to the thugs in the room who were eager to give Deng Ziyue a beating on the spot, Fan Sizhe's face looked particularly ugly, pale and bloodless. In his eyes, besides the occasional glimpse of murderous intent, there was mostly fear from the bottom of his heart.
He glared angrily at the Third Prince and said, "You idiot! Do you know who he is?"
The Third Prince was stunned, thinking, "Even if you're my cousin, how can you scold me?" He retorted angrily, "How dare you scold me!"
Fan Sizhe clenched his teeth tightly and inhaled deeply. He knew about what had happened last night, so he had come today specifically to see which low-ranking officials from the Thirteen Departments, who dared to cut off his source of wealth, were so blind. But he hadn't expected... that it would be someone from the Overwatch Council!
He closed his eyes, took two very deep breaths, and shook his head in frustration as he looked at the Third Prince. "What a good thing you've done!" A thought flashed through his mind, and he realized that someone must have been deliberately hiding things from him.
The Third Prince and Fan Sizhe were cousins. They had opened Bao Yue House together since the beginning of the year after being persuaded by others. Everything had gone smoothly, and he knew that his cousin was truly a genius in business, but he didn't understand why the other party was acting so unusually today. Even if it was someone from the Overwatch Council, what was there to be afraid of? He was a prince, and his older brother was the most powerful Tisi in the Overwatch Council!
His youthful face was filled with bewilderment.
Fan Sizhe sighed inwardly, then looked at Deng Ziyue with a hopeful expression and asked, "...That Chen Gongzi from last night, could it be...?"
Deng Ziyue looked calmly at the young man, and for some reason, he felt a little sad for Lord Fan Tisi in the depths of his heart. He nodded.
Fan Sizhe's face was blank, as if he was stunned. However, he was calculating rapidly in his mind whether he should silence Deng Ziyue and then quickly disengage himself from Bao Yue House, otherwise, what would happen to him if his brother found out?